Chapter 774

Chapter 774: The Western Campaign of the Empire

The Western Continent, Clancia.

Since the war began two years ago, millions of troops have gathered near the Heavenly Enlightenment Fortress, arrayed along the long border line, clashing with the advancing Crimson Army.

Since the national industrial reform, various equipment in Clancia has gradually become complete, ensuring that each soldier can obtain uniform weapons and armor.

Boots, waterproof cloaks, tents, backpacks, water flasks, helmets, light chainmail, forged breastplates, sabers, daggers, as well as muskets—these supplies are produced en masse by provincial machinery and continuously delivered to the front lines.

On today’s battlefield, although muskets are already in use, they haven’t yet become mainstream due to several reasons.

Firstly, their range is limited; the effective range of current smoothbore muskets is only around 100-200 meters, and their accuracy is not high, often requiring dense formations to be effective.

Secondly, their penetration is insufficient; gunpowder technology hasn’t reached the standards of future times, and primitive gunpowder doesn’t provide enough propulsion to penetrate the armor of mid-to-high-level Extraordinary Beings. Additionally, reloading takes considerable time.

Thirdly, production is difficult; while producing 100,000 muskets in a short period is possible, supplying 2 million soldiers immediately is still challenging.

However, this does not mean that muskets are useless; they have excellent uses in many scenarios such as defense, probing, and causing initial casualties. For ordinary people and low-level Extraordinary Beings, bullets from muskets are indeed lethal.

To deal with mid-level Extraordinary Beings, the army has a force of several thousand Crystal Gun units. Their Crystal Guns and enchanted bullets are third-generation products improved from the techniques of the Frost Union. They can effectively kill Extraordinary Beings up to Sequence 5 and pose significant threats to Sequence 6 beings.

The only constraint is the low output of Crystal Guns and expensive enchanted bullets.

If we were to compare it to past eras, it would be similar to the situation during World War I, where close combat units like lancers still exist, and muskets start to be used as auxiliary attack tools.

In the Third Age, Year 1696, the Crimson Empire launched successive attacks on Clancia. Over 2 million troops faced off near the Heavenly Enlightenment Fortress, forming a continuous and tense front line. Both sides began to engage in various forms of combat.

Among them were the once glorious banners, the Wind烈烈 Wind Cavalry from the West, like a white wave, crashing against the golden plains’ enemy formations. On the Crimson Empire’s side, many renowned legions emerged, such as the Blue-Armed Longbowmen, the Bear-Helmet Heavy Cavalry, the Poisonous Bee Blade Corps, the Night Owl Assassins, and the White-Horned Antelope Relief Order. These legions played significant roles in localized battles, greatly improving the situation.

Meanwhile, in the sky, the Elixir Dragons of the Pascal family constantly bombarded and attacked the fortresses and city walls near the Heavenly Enlightenment Fortress, attempting to cut off this fortress’s wings and isolate it as a lone city.

Fighting against them were the Sky-Overlord Heavy Armor Dragon from the雏雏 Moon Parliament, the Winged Race’s Black Wing Air Combat Legion, and the Cut-Air Sharp Finch from the Tixilan Mountains. Together, they formed a clearly defined front line, performing reconnaissance, sniping, and encirclement against the Bloodwing Red Dragons, resisting their bombardment of the city walls below.

When winter arrived, several bad news came.

Firstly, a surprise force crossed the Sighing Mountains, entered the rear of the Heavenly Enlightenment Fortress, and began large-scale destruction of logistics routes, burning granaries, and cutting off supply lines.

To timely supply food and logistics to the Heavenly Enlightenment Fortress, Clancia split its forces into two. One route transported urgently needed supplies by sea to the front line, while another dispatched elite troops from the army to pursue and eliminate this invading legion.

However, the Crimson Empire seemed to have also noticed the Heavenly Enlightenment Fortress’s predicament. A large number of ships were mobilized from within the country, under the emperor’s command, moving south along the coastline towards the southern waters of the Heavenly Enlightenment Fortress, intercepting the transport fleet.

Both sides engaged in fierce naval combat. Although Clancia’s warships had technological advantages, the Crimson Empire had the involvement of Elves. Their agile aerial fighters could easily break through the artillery fire, land on the warships, and engage in close combat, thus greatly offsetting the technological advantage.

Compared to this, the Crimson Empire’s fleet was numerous and spread out, advancing layer by layer on the sea surface, surrounding Clancia’s fleet and starting to strangle them. If not for the timely arrival of the雏雏 Moon Parliament’s fleet providing support and opening a path to safety, Clancia’s new fleet might have been completely annihilated.

Even though everything seemed to be developing positively, one cannot deny that Clancia’s time to accumulate was too short. The Crimson Empire, relying on three times the population of the Starlight Union, overwhelmed in terms of various supplies and personnel, was like a grown-up bullying a child.

On land, the Crimson Empire’s cavalry was finally caught after several escapes.

In the wilderness, the National Knights affiliated with Clancia faced off against the Blood Lance Knights directly under the Crimson Empire’s royal family.

Charging forward, pure white and crimson flags interwove. Both sides were elite troops with high combat willpower, fighting fiercely from the beginning, causing rivers of blood to flow, making the battle extremely brutal.

And as both sides neared exhaustion, the leader of the Blood Lance Knight Order suddenly unleashed their power, wielding a long spear to break into the enemy ranks, cutting down dozens of white-gold wind flags, leading over ten people behind them to instantly penetrate the enemy lines.

Under his encouragement and leadership, this legion reformed its array, continuously crushing the opponent until they finally won.

Under such circumstances, the supplies for the Heavenly Revelation Fortress began to face difficulties. Added to that, the arrival of winter made firewood and food even more necessary, exacerbating the situation.

Taking advantage of this weakened moment, the vast army of the Crimson Empire continuously attacked, from day to night, never ceasing. After a month, the Heavenly Revelation Fortress was already covered in corpses and breaches, with the defending troops exhausted to the extreme.

Seeing this situation, Clancia had no choice but to start considering retreat.

These two million plus troops were the core and elite of the Starlight Union. If they were all destroyed here, the country’s collapse might not be far off.

For this reason, Clancia joined forces with the雏月 Parliament to conduct a large-scale naval battle once again.

Thousands of warships gathered on the coast, charging at the Crimson Empire’s ports and camps, bombing much of the frontline supplies, which also attracted the hatred of the Crimson Empire’s navy.

The two sides began a two-week tug-of-war and chase on the sea surface, eventually luring the fleet of the Crimson Empire into a turbulent and complex ocean region, where they were largely annihilated by Clancia and the雏月 Parliament.

Since then, maritime routes could finally be barely unblocked, starting to supply and transfer to the Heavenly Revelation Fortress.

In the second year of spring.

Due to continuous bombings for nearly half a year, the Heavenly Revelation Fortress was in ruins and unsuitable for continued defense. The troops inside began to gradually transfer, and the Blood Lance Knight Order, which had caused trouble within the territory, was finally defeated by the Iron Sun Knight Order. Although their leader and a few elites were not captured, the land-based logistical supply lines were once again opened.

Third Era, April 1697, Clancia withdrew from the Heavenly Revelation Fortress, contracting its defensive lines, constructing castles along the way, and reinforcing the city defenses.

In the same June, the Crimson Empire sent another 1.2 million troops to support the Western Campaign, with the leader being Emperor’s twin brother, Adren. He would join the Duke of the Red Dragon to invade the heartland of Clancia, conquering this vast land.

In August, Clancia retreated while fighting against the 3 million troops of the Crimson Empire, with much of the former territory of Rourna falling.

In September, the empire’s army continued westward, annexing all the former territories of Rourna.

In November, the imperial army arrived at Uebere, the former capital of Vergha.

In December, after a month of bombing and siege, the empire occupied Uebere. Due to the cold weather, they began to regroup and repair, preparing for the next year’s attack on Hope Lane.

—

Third Era, January 1698, Hope Lane.

Gray skies were dotted with fine snowflakes, melting upon landing, moistening the cold cobblestone streets.

Once bustling, the city was now solemn, filled with Clancia soldiers on duty and patrol. They wore neat armor, holding muskets and halberds, marching in unison through the snowstorm.

In the open space near the city gate, tents were set up everywhere, housing refugees.

“Name?”

“Debran.”

“Where are you from?”

“Glass Province.”

“What did you do before? Do you have any skills? If so, we can arrange work for you, which would improve your living conditions.”

“I understand. My father was a carpenter; I learned a lot about it when I was young, and I can still do some work now.”

“Very good. Take this token to the table on the right to report.”

A long queue formed in front of a desk near the city gate. Refugees from the fallen areas would register here and be uniformly arranged by local government personnel.

One by one, people covered in snow waited, advancing slowly in line, registering, then taking their tokens to collect food and find a place to sleep for the night.

At this moment, a girl wrapped in a dark headscarf stepped forward. She appeared to be in her twenties, wearing a simple cotton coat, with wet, cold snowflakes on her headscarf.

“Name?”

“Letis,” replied the girl whose face was red from the cold.

“Where are you from?”

“Glass Province.”

“What did you do before? Do you have any skills?”

“Well, I know alchemy. I also worked in a spinning mill before. Here’s my work certificate.” She unfolded a crumpled paper, on which the blurred letters “Letis” were printed.

“Alchemy? Are you sure you’re not joking?” The staff member looked up to appraise the girl.

“Well, I really do. I can recite many formulas and principles on the spot, draw diagrams, yes, I can even design them.”

A girl said somewhat nervously.

“Alright, you don’t need to explain all this to me.”

He lowered his head to write something down but inadvertently noticed her hands full of work-related scars.

“You’re a skilled weaver, but unfortunately, there’s no textile factory here. Perhaps you could work at a clothing store; that way, you could live more comfortably, not having to share a tent with others.”

“I’m willing, I am,” Letis nodded, gratefully responding.

“Good, take your badge and go report to the right. Rest for a couple of days, then work hard.”

“Although it’s tough, compared to those who died in war and on the road, you’re lucky.”

“Mm.”

Holding the slightly cold metal badge, Letis carefully held it in her hand and walked towards the nearby counter.

“Good child, you must have worked hard. Come, drink some warm porridge. Then show me your badge and introduction letter,” an old grandmother standing behind the table called out to Letis.

There was a slightly large open tent set up here, with hot porridge boiling inside. Some refugees were collecting food by showing their badges.

Letis held the metal badge representing her identity, somewhat cautiously showing it to the elderly woman, who then nodded with a smile.

“Alright, don’t be afraid, everything is fine now. This place is currently safe. At least you can sleep well through this winter.”

She looked at the girl with a loving gaze, then let her enter the tent to sit for a moment and served her a bowl of warm wheat porridge.

The porridge was cooked to a soft consistency, emitting a faint burnt aroma. Though ordinary, it smelled like the most delicious food to Letis. It was even more enticing than the delicacies she had tasted at the noble banquet in Mozwa.

The warm liquid flowed down her throat, carrying a slight sweetness, gradually warming her cold body and settling in her stomach. A quiet happiness slowly rose within her.

It seemed as if nothing else existed except for this half-porridge bowl in her hand.

It was the source of life, the warmth of a winter night, the beginning of hope for the future.

The next day, Letis arrived at a clothing store.

Looking up, she saw a colorful mermaid silhouette painted on the signboard.

‘Sunset Mermaid,’ she muttered to herself, then entered the store.

“Hello, is the owner here? I was introduced to work here.”

She stepped into what appeared to be an ordinary shop, with various colored clothes hanging in the wardrobes. The clothes were varied in color but rather conservative in style, lacking novelty. Perhaps this was why sales were poor.

“Oh, someone has come? Wait a moment.”

After a while, a middle-aged aunt came out from the back room, wearing a purple-red fur coat that looked quite special.

Taking the paper slip handed over by Letis, she glanced at it.

“So it’s like that. Recently, many people have fled from the east, and the city administrators have informed us to accommodate some in residents’ homes.”

“You used to work in a textile factory, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“That’s perfect. Help me out, lately it’s getting colder, we need to make a batch of warm coats, which will sell well.”

She led Letis towards the warehouse in the backyard.

“Last year, in the first half of the year, I purchased some Gufia grassland furs from the Lamia Chamber of Commerce. I never expected to use them this year.”

“It’s a pity my daughter isn’t home; there’s only me and an old lady working here, so progress is slow.”

As she spoke, she opened the door to the warehouse, revealing stacks of furs piled high, giving off a faint smell, a mixture of dry powder and mildew, causing her nose to itch.

Letis cautiously walked in, scanning the area.

“There are so many?”

“Haha, yes. Because trade with the north has been smooth, fur prices dropped significantly, so I took the opportunity to stock up.”

“Now, it’s not easy to get them, since many are being requisitioned for military coats.”

“Today, I’ll arrange a room for you to rest and sleep. Tomorrow, you’ll start learning how to work. Of course, you’ll still get paid.”

“Mm.”

Letis nodded and followed the aunt to another area. As she turned around, she glanced back at the pile of furs in the warehouse, thinking about something else.

With so much fur, sewing by hand would be too slow.

Perhaps I could try making an alchemical creation to help with sewing. That should make things easier.

With such thoughts, she lay down on the soft, warm bedding, quickly falling into a peaceful sleep after enduring hardships.

Her anxious heart gradually calmed, and her troubled thoughts paused momentarily.

~End of Chapter~